Snuff Bottle Pages

A beautiful and rare Malachite bottle from the Heriot Collection 1750-1800 - 5.2cm. Malachite was available throughout our s***f bottle era however very few early examples have survived. This example shows the beautiful natural markings in the stone.
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To celebrate the Chelsea Flower Show I am sharing this delicately carved bottle with four luscious plants which would add joy to any garden.
Glass, of elegant form, pale green ground with red and blue overlay on each of the four sides carved with prunus, bamboo, chrysanthemum and cymbidium (Landau a type of orchid).
Yangzhou 1800-1850 6.8cm
They also hold auspicious meanings : the prunus (plum), cymbidium (orchid), bamboo and chrysanthemum grouped together are known as ‘The four gentlemen amongst Flowers’ but individually the plum tree symbolises perseverance and purity; the orchid is associated with the high integrity of the gentleman; the bamboo is an emblem of longevity owing probably to its durability, and to the fact that it is evergreen and flourishes throughout the winter; the Chrysanthemum is the flower of autumn and is also the symbol of long life and of duration.
Provenance:
Avrina Pugh
Robert Hall
Moeskops Collection Bonhams London 2022
Exhibited:
ICSBS Convention Lisbon 2023, Museo Medeiros e Almeida
Published:
ICSBS, Small Treasures of Chinese S***f Bottles, no 40
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Just a few of the s***f bottle treasures on display at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. All collected by Colonel and Mrs Crozier whilst stationed in Beijing during the 1920’s. The colours and detail are superb and it will be marvellous to see them again during the ICSBS convention in October this year.
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Happy Year of the dragon 2024.
The dragon motif first began to appear in highly stylized format in China during the late Shang Dynasty around 1200 BC. At that time, the power of natural forces was of great concern to society – sun-wind- weather- rain- water. These powers had to be appeased and were given personality and a body. In the case of the sun and spring they were seen as sinuous flowing snakelike beasts. Thus the dragon was seen as a symbol of the rising and healing power of nature. # ***fbottlesociety
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Delighted to be exhibiting as part of at 4 Bury Street, London SW1
Open evening Sunday 29 October 5-8pm and Mon-Fri next week 10.30-5.30

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Sometimes you get a bottle and it takes a while but eventually a picture comes to mind.
Does anybody else see Mickey Mouse sitting on top of a slide … ? One of my collectors, in fact the oldest collector I know saw this and it has brought him great joy ever since…
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Display of bottles during the Summer Event for #
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As part of Asian Art in London, come handle and discuss 19th C bottles at 12 noon today at Priestley and Ferraro 3 Bury Street, London W1. Here is one of the bottles:
Glass; overlaid on one side in low relief of differing depths with two fan-tailed fish swimming beneath a cluster of lotus, with a dragon- fly hovering above, the seal xinwan, 'Heart's delight', within an oval cartouche to one side, the reverse
with a crane perched on one leg on a pierced rock, looking up at a swooping bat, beneath a fruiting peach tree, attributed to the school of LiJunting, Yangzhou. 1850-1900
Height 5.8cm Provenance : Bob C Stevens, Eric Young

Wonderful exhibition at the British Museum China’s Hidden Century which includes s***f bottles : here is a portrait of Li Hongzhang - a modernising scholar official. Painted by Ma Shaoxuan. ***fbottlesociety
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National Women’s Day Porcelain; the soft-paste body enamelled in famille-verte colours with a scene from 'The Dream of the Red Chamber' of various ladies on a terrace, another making up in front of a mirror and another asleep in a curtained bed behind, beneath a creamy crackled glaze, Jingdezhen kilns. 5.1cm Provenance: The Golden Autumn Collection.
The Dream of the Red Chamber is considered possibly the greatest novel of Chinese literature. It is the story of the son of a wealthy, noble family is born with a magic stone in his mouth. An admirer of all the women and girls in the household, he rebels against his stern father and the social barriers of the time. After his family crushes his romantic love affair with his favorite cousin, both lovers renounce earthly life. #

A rare material : Hornbill; the red sheath down each narrow side carved in low relief with dragons; the shoulders and neck carved with bats, well patinated.
Provenance: Ramfield Collection: Pamela L Friedman

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Published: Friedman, Pamela Chinese S***f Bottles from the Pamela R Lessing Friedman Collection, page 110 no 86 and Robert Hall Chinese S***f Bottles XI The Snowy Peaks Collection no 124.

Happy Lunar New Year of the Rabbit.

The rabbit (兔) is the fourth in the twelve-year periodic sequence of animals that appear in the Chinese zodiac Legend has it the Rabbit was proud of its speed. One day, the Jade Emperor said the zodiac order would be decided by the order in which the animals arrived at his party. Rabbit set off at daybreak. But when he got there, no other animals were in sight. Thinking that he would obviously be first, he went off to the side and napped. However, when he woke up, three other animals had already arrived. One of them was the Ox he had always looked down upon.

The Rabbit is also associated with the Earthly Branch (地支 / dì zhī) mǎo (卯) and the hours 5—7 in the morning. In the terms of yin and yang (阴阳—yīn yáng), the Rabbit is yin. In Chinese culture, rabbits represent the moon, perhaps because the shadows of the moon resemble a rabbit. Rabbits are excellent at producing offspring and rabbit buns were given to folk wishing to have a family, each Lunar new year. Image no 1. Glass; rectangular body with a low relief overlay of ochre brown, depicting a dog chasing a rabbit, beneath a bird of prey hovering above and a tall tree, the reverse with a boy, a basket hanging over one shoulder, minding two ducks, beneath a tree and the seal, Zhenke, 'good luck', the narrow sides inscribed After the style of Liuru Jushi' By Wangsu, Yangzhou.
c 1821
6.2cm. Image no 2.

Porcelain, soft paste, of unusual amphora form, painted in underglaze blue with animals of the Chinese Zodiac, the base with a six-character Yongzheng mark, in seal script (not of the period).
1800-1880
7.8cm. Image no 3 image of Chinese New Year Celebrations, Liverpool, UK . If you have read this far down Congratulations! You will have a great Lunar New Year !! # ***fbottlesociety
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Advent Day 24
The last day of advent - Christmas Eve- and ‘Twas the night before Christmas’ courtesy of Clement C Moore I I Enjoy, along with this inside painted bottle with Merry Scene.

Glass; painted on the inside with numerous boys beneath a pine tree playing games and musical instruments, a pierced rock to one side, inscribed 'Picture of One Hundred Children', By Liu Shouben.
1986

6.3cm

Provenance

Commissioned direct from the artist, Beijing 1986. The Golden Autumn Collection. The Yorkshire Pudding Collection.

Advent Day 23

Cinnabar lacquer; deeply carved on a dark green diaper background with a man and woman in court robes standing in front of a pavilion flanked by pine trees and rocks, an assistant offering a tray with a teapot, the reverse with a figure in a conical hat resting on his haunches beside a tethered horses to watch a boy carrying boxes and a qin attached to a pole on his shoulders, the mouth and foot applied with gilt-bronze fittings, Imperial workshops, Beijing.
1736-1795

This is a classic example of the series confidently attributed to the Palace workshops. The style of carving and the subject-matter match that of many Vessels, boxes and brush pots with Qianlong marks and where the original stoppers have survived they are in the form of court hats, with finials, a further attribute of Imperial style. The series is discussed at length in Treasury 7, nos. 1538-1543 where it is noted that approximately one hundred surviving examples have been recorded. Several of the group remain in the Palace Museum, Beijing. ***fbottlesociety
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Advent Day 21
Dashing through the snow… Glass; the translucent white body overlaid in ruby-red with a scaly dragon descending towards a flaming pearl, its five-clawed limbs extended and the long tail continuing across the reverse.
1821-1850

The attitude of the dragon, descending in flight and with an undulating body filled with carefully delineated scales, is typical of those found on enamelled porcelains of the Daoguang period (1821-1850) and the eccentric treatment of the head also shows considerable development from the established features of the eighteenth century. However, the standard of polish on the background and the carefully detailed overlapping scales of the dragon demonstrate that high quality could be still be achieved during the nineteenth century. The dragon has five claws, an Imperial prerogative and this could have been a late product of the Imperial glassworks, or a product from a private workshop producing items for the court.

6.6cm

Provenance:

Robert Kleiner (1992) The Golden Autumn Collection. ***fbottlesociety
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Advent Day 20 A gift for a wise man? How about this glorious Bottle. Glass, intense sapphire blue, carved in low relief with an orchid emerging from a rock. 1780-1850

6.7cm
Provenance: Lloyd Noakes Collection
This bottle is in my under
$ 1,000 category.
The orchid is known for its beauty and elegance and are often associated with the great teacher and philosopher Confucius. They are given as gifts to a friend as a symbol of respect and admiration.

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Advent Day 19
Slate (duanstone); supported on a raised and flattened base, crisply carved on front with two scaly dragons contesting a flaming pearl in the centre highlighted by a pale green inclusion in the material, the details of scales and features crispy incised, the reverse incised with a lengthy inscription in archaic characters, a further inscription and a seal, possibly Imperial, attributed to Guangzhou. 1736-1814

This bottle is one of a well known series all clearly made within the same workshops and possibly by the same hand. Many have Imperial inscriptions on the reverse praising the stone from which they are made (see White Wings, no. 132) and several are decorated with stylised archaistic kui dragons confronted to form the characters long ('dragon') or xi ('happiness'),a design found on several glass s***f bottles strongly attributed to the imperial glassworks (see no. 18 above).

A small number of the series have green or ochre inclusions which, asin the case of this bottle, have been skilfully incorporated into the design to highlight the flaming pearl.The golden pearl has a green halo, which makes it one of the most exciting of the group with inclusions and it has been carefully positioned in the centre to become the dramatic focus of the action. An example with both golden pearl inclusions and two Confronted kui is illustrated in White Wings, no. 131.

The unusually precise dating of these bottles is based on an extraordinary example from the J & J Collection, which has no less than one hundred and twenty minute inscriptions fitted between the carved decoration and which has several cyclical dates and a signature (see The Art of the Chinese S***f Bottle, no 84).

5.1cm

Provenance:

Antiques Pacifica, Honolulu (Patricia Miller) (1981)

Advent Day 18

Brown crystal; supported on a foot rim, the smoky-coloured material very well hollowed. 1770-1850
Height: 6.4cm

Brown, or smoky crystal was almost as popular as colourless crystal in the arts of the s***f bottle and was clearly favored by the Qianlong Emperor. A bottle in the Bloch collection is inscribed with an Imperial poem dated 1774 (Treasury 2, no 353) and the court connection is further strengthened by another inscribed smoky crystal bottle from that collection which belonged to Prince Ding Zaichuan and is inscribed with his hall mark, Xingyoulheng Tang (ibid.,no, 3611).

The visual interest in this bottle resides in the unusually slender variation on the standard rectangular form of the Qing period.

6.4cm

Provenance:

Robinson & Co, Singapore (1971)

Private

Advent Day 17.
It’s a Wonderful Life…
So proud of my daughter who Graduated with a Masters in Psychology earlier this week….

Glass; of double-gourd shape, the milk-white body overlaid in ruby-red with a continuous fruiting double-gourd scroll with three of the fruits forming the supports on the base, one slender stem encircling the centre to form a belt.

This bottle is one of a coherent group, all characterised by deep relief carving, similar subject-matter and the foot being supported by some of the design elements, in this case three miniature double-gourds. Many of the series are encircled by a belt. 1780-1850

6.1cm

Advent Day 16

Glass; in the form of a peach, the thin walls suffused with pink speckles and overlaid around the shoulders with pale blue leaves. 1770-1850

This is one of a series of distinctive fruit-form s***f bottles which were clearly made in the same workshop. The surface colour, simulating the skin of the peach, has been created by sprinkling powdered glass onto the hot surface during manufacture and it has achieved a realistic effect.

4cm

Provenance:

Sotheby's, London, 3 March 1987, lot 1

Advent Day 15 Almost the shape of a Christmas tree ?
Nephrite of pebble material; with a very wide mouth, the hollowing on the interior leaving a solid area above the foot, the base flattened, the body with a pyramid-shaped section enclosed by a dark patch enveloping the shoulders.

1720-1800

Height: 5cm

Provenance

Sotheby's London, 6 December 1995, lot 618

When working on this bottle the lapidary has cut the pebble so as to retain the chevron-shaped whiter interior, thus creating the main decorative theme. The paler area appears to have a fine network of capillary-like markings, which usually appear when the colour has been enhanced by staining. Unlike most bottles made from pebble jade, which have unusually small mouths, this bottle has a very wide opening, encompassing most of the diameter of the neck. A bottle with a similar chevron shaped pattern, but across the shoulders and neck, is illustrated in Treasury I, no. 11.
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Advent Day 14…….

Glass. rounded and imitating nephrite carved with an inscription which is a Poem “Fu to the Moon that Illuminates the Frozen Pond” by Li Shangyin (c. 813-858) in the Tang Dynasty (618-906) 1780-1850
Provenance: Lloyd Noakes Collection
6.1cm
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Advent Day 13 …. Jingle bells !!
Crystal, painted inside with a Pekinese dog under peony and the reverse with two dogs and two doves. Signed Ye Zhongsan and dated 1904. The bells on the individual dogs collar would act as a warning to prey. Or they would make a wonderful Christmas jingle too!! ***fbottle ***f_bottle_society

Advent Day 10.
A little jewel ……. Glass; of small size, the yellow body with a wide mouth and overlaid in pale ruby-red with a cluster of fruiting peach sprays on one side and pomegranates on the reverse, a bat on each shoulder.
1780-1850. 4cm

The peach symbolises longevity and the pomegranate a wish for numerous sons, enhanced by the presence of the bats. Although the Imperial prerogatives were breaking down during the nineteenth century it is likely that yellow was still reserved for Imperial use so this bottle may have been an Imperial birthday offering.
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4cm

Provenance: The Golden Autumn Collection

Sotheby's London, 23 March 1988, lot 62

Advent Day 10
“And we all like figgy pudding”… and this puddingstone s***f bottle. 1780-1850
Provenance: Pamela Friedman Collection. s***f_bottle_society .

Advent Day 9
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas!

Glass; the translucent milky-white body of slender baluster shape supported on a crisply carved ring foot and with a slightly waisted neck, attributed to the Imperial glassworks, Beijing.

1710-1790

White was another of the early colours on Wang Shizen's list and became the main vehicle for enamelled decoration as the century progressed. The slight opalescence in the glass, which was an intended part of the final effect, was caused by the addition of calcined ash.

Monochrome bottles, with no decoration, have to rely for their impact on elegance of form and this example fulfils that requirement admirably with the slender body sweeping to a flared neck and rising from a delicately balanced neat foot rim.

6cm

Provenance:

Count Blucher von Wahlstatt

Hugh Moss (1983)
The Golden Autumn Collection

Advent Day 8. Playful red dragons for Christmas Cheer. Glass; the translucent body with a wide mouth, overlaid in ruby-red on each side with a pair of chilong dancing around each other, a stylised mask and ring handle on each shoulder, the raised foot rim slightly splayed. 1780-1850 6.4cm

The chilong on this bottle are unusually mobile and have been invested with an almost feline quality as they dance around each other. The slight eccentricity of the design, coupled with the simplified masks on the shoulders, point to manufacture within a private workshop freed from the restrictions on style imposed within the Imperial workshops. ***f_bottle_society

Advent Day 5
Delighted to be here in Lisbon working on s***f bottle society convention in 2023.
What a warm welcome - epitomised by the symbol for Portugal - the Cockerel. This is a familiar theme in s***f bottles though with a different meaning.
Chalcedony; with a slightly concave mouth and supported on a foot rim of oval section with rounded edges, carved on front with a cockerel perched on one leg. Official School.
1780-150

The crowing Cockerel implies the wish to have rank and honour and together implies the wish to rise continuously in the ranks.

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Advent Day 4
Glass; supported on a raised foot rim of oval section and with an unusually wide mouth, the pale golden-yellow body carved on each side with a pair of dragons, their bodies confronted to form a vajra symbol, enclosing a small shou character, the shoulders with masks suspending slightly elongated rings, attributed to the Imperial glassworks, Beijing. 1750-1820

The Buddhist double-vajra symbol became a popular motif on ceramics made for the court during the eighteenth century, as the religion once more became a powerful influence, spreading from Tibet. The Imperial glass archives for the Qianlong period record numerous glass s***f bottles as having been ordered for bestowel to the Dalai and Banchen Lamas, Luster, pp. 74-83, and a subject such as this would have been suitable for such a gift.

Advent Day3
A spectacular colour for our third window-
Glass, kingfisher blue, the sides with mask and ring handles, and with a raised oval foot rim; the glass suffused with crizzling. Attributed to the Palace Workshops, Beijing. 1750-1850

Height: 5.2cm

Published: The White Wings Catalogue no 48

Provenance:

Gil and Rosalie Small

The White Wings Collection. ***f_bottle_society #